This month I'm
thrilled to report a new Orland Outland release, "Death Wore A
Fabulous New Fragrance". If you recall, in last November's column,
I reviewed his book, "Death Wore A Smart Little Outfit".
Well Outland has returned with a sequel in the Doan McCandler/Binky Van de Kamp
series, and I'm pleased to report this book is even better.
To refresh your memory, Doan is a gay man who loves dressing in women's clothing.
In fact, the few times he dresses in "drab" he dislikes it intensely, a
feeling I know we can all appreciate. He is apparently quite pretty, as he is
often in this book mistaken for a gorgeous woman, and wears his blonde hair in a
long bob. Some of the discrepancies in the prior book have been eliminated, such
as those where people marvel at the sight of a man on a street in a dress. Now
Doan mostly passes, except where it is obvious he is a man by the context. Binky is
a beautiful trust fund baby, who makes enough to live on, but not enough to satisfy
her lust for the good things in life. She and Doan are best friends who share the
same taste in men and clothes.
As the book opens, Binky has broken up with the handsome police detective she
dated in the last book. He has fallen for her in a big way, so he enlists Doan's
help in opening their own detective agency, something Doan wants to do anyway. The
reasoning is that Binky will be thrown together with the detective in the course
of investigations and his true love will win her over. Before this can happen, a
dashing young movie star is killed with a perfume he is hawking, and the most
obvious suspect is one of Binky and Doan's gay activist friends. They begin
to investigate, and before you can slip on a pair of 5-inch heels, Binky is hired
as an assistant to a famous publicist, and Doan is babysitting the movie star's
adopted children. That leads to a gig helping at the Oscars and much adventure, all
accompanied by the same delightful tongue-in-cheek humor.
Outland's descriptiveness is still much too light for my taste, especially
concerning Doan's crossdressing. But I found it much more exciting than the first
book. Doan truly masquerades as a woman some, and when he and Binky double-date,
they act like two women on a date. Some have told me that they didn't like the
first book, and if that applies to you, don't buy this one. But if you kind of
liked the first one, then you'll really like this sequel.
And another big thanks to Jennifer Fitzgerald, who recommended the first book to me!
For my second main book, I'd like to recommend "Hour of the
Hunter", by J.A. Jance. This book hooked me on Jance, even
though it is not like any of her others. It deals with a mother and son who
must deal with the release from prison of the man who was responsible for the
father's incrimination and death. The ex-con, Andrew Carlisle, is an extremely
intelligent former professor, who quickly catches on to the realities of life in
prison. Carlisle realizes that small men are a valuable commodity in prison, and
he is a very small man. So he trades his physical traits to those inmates who can
do the most for him, thus getting something for the brutalization and humiliation
he would have suffered anyway. Eventually he catches the eye of a prison official
who arranges private plays for himself and others, where all parts are played by the
inmates. Carlisle is, of course, typecast as a female and enjoys the challenge of
the role. When Carlisle is released from prison he plans to get revenge for all of
the pain he suffered in prison. He starts immediately with a female motorist. To
raise funds, he obtains cheap women's clothing and dresses in drag to get a pickup
at a gay bar. This is one of the few inconsistencies of the book, as of course, that
is not the way to get most gay men to like you. But it works, as Carlisle gets
picked up by an aging Hollywood producer, who is killed as soon as they are alone.
Carlisle finds better women's clothing and wigs in the producer's hotel room and
appropriates them for his own use. He exits the hotel as a well-dressed woman.
This plot is interspersed with tales of the mother and son's life, as well as
several of the Indians they come in contact with on the reservation where they live.
The descriptions of Indian life and myths as well as the coming-of-age of the son
are what make this book outstanding. The serial killer plot is actually the weakest
of the book. Just as we are excited by how Carlisle's female impersonations are
proceeding, they stop! I can only think that Jance backed off as this would have
made Carlisle too hard to detect. In spite of the disappointment I do recommend
the book, but as a paperback buy or a library checkout.
To finish out the J.A. Jance theme, there is another book she's written with a
transgender criminal. It is "Taking the Fifth", one of
her mystery series starring J.P. Beaumont, an alcoholic Seattle detective. I can't
say too much about the transgender aspect, except that while it is a major part of
the plot, the description is minor. But I highly recommend the book on its own, as
the characters are very well drawn and highly likable. I normally get bored by
alcoholic characters, as they are usually very depressing to read about. But Beaumont
is also a very good police detective, who is human, likably grouchy, and is
surrounded by good and bad supporting players who are fun to read about. This
series is Jance's best writing by far, and "Taking the Fifth" is one of
the best in this series.
The plot surrounds the murders of a several gay men, who are connected to the
comeback tour of a famous singer. A stiletto heel was the murder weapon in the
first murder, and Beaumont has a difficult task ahead of him, at first just to
find out who the dead man is and where he lived. As in all of the Beaumont series,
police procedural is the order of the day and if you enjoy that kind of mystery,
you'll most definitely enjoy this book. Jance is also a master of the despicable
fed character, and you'll enjoy the tension created by this and other interactions.